Island County is expending funds generated by a special sales tax to purchase an apartment building in Coupeville and possibly buy property in downtown Oak Harbor for a future apartment complex.

The projects are part of the county’s ongoing effort to help support low-income housing projects through a variety of funding sources. In all, projects that received county funds over the last four years could provide more than 250 housing units.

The county commissioners and Human Services staff discussed two new projects at a workshop meeting earlier this month. Human Services Director Lynda Austin explained that the commissioners adopted a resolution in 2022 to create a 1/10th of 1% sales tax to fund affordable housing projects. The sales tax was allowed after state lawmakers passed House Bill 1590.

The county currently has $4 million in the account.

“We’re very excited to be able to use these funds to expand our housing inventory,” Austin said.

Commissioner Melanie Bacon expressed concerns with a proposal to grant the Housing Authority of Island County housing sales tax funds to purchase and repair a six-unit apartment at 1 Northwest Sixth Street in Coupeville.

Bacon pointed out that the commissioners said at the time the resolution was adopted that the money would only be used to build new housing. The purchase of the apartment would not create overall new inventory, but it would create new affordable housing.

Bacon and the other commissioners said they came to realize since the adoption of the resolution that it is more cost effective to convert existing buildings into affordable housing, especially with the skyrocketing cost of new construction. They agreed to move forward with the project but to clarify the resolution at a later time.

This Tuesday, the commissioners formally adopted the contract with the Housing Authority for the purchase of the building. The county will provide $999,000 for the purchase and $401,000 for the repair work from the housing sales tax fund.

At the same meeting, they also adopted a purchase and sales agreement on a $950,000 property located on Southeast Fidalgo Avenue in Oak Harbor. The deal is contingent on a feasibility analysis. If it goes through, the county would likely work with a nonprofit organization to build apartments on the site.

Island County Commissioner Jill Johnson stressed that the large Garry oak tree on the property would be unharmed. Nearly 20 years ago, the owners of the property proposed developing a 36-unit mixed residential building on the site. The project was complicated by the presence of an oak, with some residents criticizing a proposal to remove four of the six trunks of the sprawling tree.

The county has also invested in a number of other affordable housing projects over the last four years, according to information from Human Services and developers involved in the projectrs.

The $36.7 million Mulberry Village is expected to provide 80 units of rental housing on Southwest Swantown Avenue in Oak Harbor. The property is owned by the county, while the housing will be managed by the Opportunity Council, a regional nonprofit. The county provided $2.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the project; it was also awarded a $3.7 million state grant earlier this year.

The similar Camas Flats project in Oak Harbor will provide 81 rental units. The total project cost is $31 million, while the county contributed $3.9 million in ARPA funds and $1.1 million from documents recording fees.

Generations Place in Langley is a project by Island Roots Housing and is expected to create 14 rental units. The county contributed $1 million in ARPA funds toward the $7.7 million project.

Habitat for Humanity is building 13 single family homes in the Oak Harbor and Penn Cove areas. The county provided the organization with nearly $2 million in ARPA funds.

In addition, the county gave the Low Income Housing Institute $1.4 million in document recording fees toward the purchase of the Harbor Inn in Freeland. The facility currently provides 10 units of shelter, but additional units of permanent supportive housing are planned.